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Two Sisters Food Group today announces that it has reached a licensing agreement with Premier Foods plc for the production, distribution, sales and marketing of its Hovis Breakfast Bakes range of breakfast biscuits.

Two Sisters Food Group today announces that it has reached a licensing agreement with Premier Foods plc for the production, distribution, sales and marketing of its Hovis Breakfast Bakes range of breakfast biscuits.

The new agreement will run for an initial period of five years from 1 August 2013 and marks an important step for 2 Sisters Food Group as it looks to continually diversify and innovate within new food categories.

The £78 million breakfast biscuit¹ market represents the fastest growing segment of the healthier biscuits category, itself growing at 8% annually². By combining the strong heritage and health credentials of the Hovis brand together with the biscuits expertise of Fox’s Biscuits, both companies foresee opportunities to target a genuine need among busy consumers to provide a healthier biscuit alternative and grow the category further.

Commenting on the new licensing agreement, Colin Smith, Managing Director, Fox’s Biscuits, said: “I’m delighted with this agreement as it will enable both companies to be part of a relatively new and growing category. We see enormous potential to grow one of the nation’s favourite brands, which has such a strong association with natural ingredients and goodness, in the biscuits sector. We will look to create new varieties within the current Hovis Breakfast Bakes range as well as innovate with new products.”

Simon Devereux, Business Unit Director, Premier Foods’ Bread Division, said: “This licensing agreement is an excellent way for us to extend the Hovis brand into adjacent categories. By working with 2 Sisters Food Group and Fox’s Biscuits, we have a partner with the biscuits expertise necessary to take full advantage of the market opportunities.”

The three variants of Hovis Breakfast Bakes; Malted Crunch; Oats & Honey; and Milk & Oats; will be manufactured at the Fox’s Biscuits plant in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. The licensing agreement also provides for other healthier biscuit options to be developed under the Hovis brand in the future.

About 2 Sisters Food Group:2 Sisters Food Group is a leading diversified UK and European food manufacturer with annual sales of around £3 billion and over 24,000 colleagues across the UK, Ireland, Holland and Poland. The Group has strong market positions across branded and retailer own brand products, including in Bakery, Biscuits, Chilled, Frozen, Poultry and Red Meat. We serve the retail, wholesale and foodservice markets and our brands include Fox’s Biscuits and Goodfella’s Pizzas. Our focus is to serve every meal occasion and put our customers at the heart of everything we do.

About Premier Foods PLC:As one of Britain's largest food producers, Premier Foods is committed to being ‘The Best in British Food’ - delivering the taste the British love, with food that's made in Britain by people who understand British consumers. We supply a range of retail, wholesale, foodservice and other customers with some of Britain's best loved brands, including Ambrosia, Batchelors, Bisto, Hovis, Loyd Grossman, Mr. Kipling, Oxo and Sharwood’s . The company employs around 9,000 people operating from over 35 sites from across the country.